The Latest: Pogba dedicates France win to freed Thai players

MOSCOW (AP) — The Latest on Tuesday at the World Cup (all times local):

12:15 a.m.

Paul Pogba has paused after the biggest win of his international career to dedicate it to the Thai soccer team whose last members were freed from a flooded cave hours earlier.

The France midfielder took to Twitter shortly after France beat Belgium late Tuesday to advance to the World Cup final. He posted the boys’ photos and said the victory “goes to the heroes of the day, well done boys, you are so strong.”

The last of the 12 boys and their coach were freed earlier in the day from a cave where they had been trapped for more than two weeks.

FIFA had invited the team to the World Cup final on Sunday but the governing body announced the boys wouldn’t be able to attend since they are receiving medical treatment after their ordeal.

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11:15 p.m.

Paris has erupted in firecrackers, flares and shouts and tears of joy after France advanced to the World Cup final.

Red smoke rose up from flares fired by fans on the Right Bank esplanade outside City Hall, where crowds watched a broadcast of the 1-0 victory over Belgium on huge screens Tuesday night.

Fans poured onto streets around the city, from the chic Champs-Elysees to working-class neighborhoods on the edge of town. Firecrackers popped in quick succession, punctuated by car horns and football chants and “On est en finale!” or “we’re in the final!”

Some streets were closed to car traffic to accommodate fans. Police vans lined the busiest areas in a city still on guard after extremist attacks.

France will face the winner of Wednesday’s semifinal between England and Croatia in the World Cup decider in Moscow on Sunday. The French public, celebrities and politicians have rallied around the national team as it advanced.

Samuel Umititi scored the only goal in the semifinal with a header in the 51st minute at the St. Petersburg stadium in Russia.

Umititi says “We worked really hard together, and it’s me that scored but we all delivered a big game.”

His live TV interview was interrupted by teammate Antoine Griezmann, who saluted to the camera and said: “Vive la France! Vive la Republique!”

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10:55 p.m.

France has reached the World Cup final for the first time since 2006 with a 1-0 win over Belgium in a semifinal match that attracted presidents, royalty and a rock star.

Samuel Umtiti’s header in the 51st minute was the only goal in a tense match at St. Petersburg.

France, the 1998 champions and runners-up in ’06, will play either Croatia or England in Sunday’s final at Moscow. England and Croatia will meet Wednesday in Moscow in the second semifinal.

France President Emmanuel Macron and King Philippe of Belgium shook hands in the VIP section before the match. Mick Jagger was also on the official list of guests.

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10:15 p.m.

What came first, the chicken or the goal?

Harry Kane, Dele Alli were among the England players who played a game of toss the rubber chicken at training, a day ahead of a World Cup semifinal against Croatia.

Why?

“That’s exactly what I asked our fitness coaches around here,” England coach Gareth Southgate said. “Our physical performance coaches try to keep refreshing the warmups of the players and keep them stimulated. Just a bit of fun to get them moving, and some of the mobility exercises.”

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10:09 p.m.

Samuel Umtiti has headed France into a 1-0 lead against Belgium in the World Cup semifinals.

Umtiti rose brilliantly to head in Antoine Griezmann’s corner from the right in the 51st minute, for his first goal of the tournament.

Striker Olivier Giroud won the corner after turning Belgian defender Vincent Kompany, forcing him to put his goal-bound shot out of play.

The winner in St. Petersburg plays Croatia or England in Sunday’s final.

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9:46 p.m.

It’s 0-0 at halftime in the World Cup semifinal despite Belgium and France going close to scoring in the first half.

With France’s soccer-loving President Emmanuel Macron and Belgian King Philippe watching from the stands, France sat back and hoped to hit Belgium on the counterattack.

Belgium used the space to put France under pressure around the 20-minute mark with Eden Hazard firing a curling shot from the left that Raphael Varane headed over the bar. Hugo Lloris was twice called into action to save France.

The France goalkeeper first punched away a cross by Kevin De Bruyne aimed at Marouane Fellaini and moments later dived to his right to block a shot by Toby Alderweireld.

French teenager Kylian Mbappe’s pace was a constant threat on the right and his pass in the 40th minute set up Benjamin Pavard but Belgian keeper Thibaut Courtois stuck out a left leg to deflect the shot wide.

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9:10 p.m.

Mick Jagger is on FIFA’s list of VIP guests at the World Cup semifinal between France and Belgium in St. Petersburg.

The Rolling Stones singer completed the band’s world tour on Sunday in Poland.

On stage in Warsaw, Jagger fulfilled a request by former Polish president Lech Walesa by drawing attention to an authoritarian government policy to remove independent judges.

Among the political leaders joining Jagger in the crowd as official are Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Ali Bongo Ondimba, the President of Gabon.

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9 p.m.

The World Cup semifinal between France and Belgium has kicked off at St. Petersburg Stadium, with France President Emmanuel Macron and King Philippe of Belgium in attendance.

France coach Didier Deschamps warmly hugged Thierry Henry moments before the start. Henry is France’s all-time leading scorer with 51 goals, but is now an assistant to Belgium coach Robert Martinez. Henry also greeted players on France’s bench.

The winner between France and Belgium will meet Croatia or England in Sunday’s final.

France was European Championship runner-up two years ago and is aiming to reach its fourth major final this century. Les Bleus won Euro 2000 and lost the 2006 World Cup final.

Belgium is hoping to reach only the second major final, having lost the European final to West Germany in 1980. Belgium lost its only previous World Cup semifinal to an Argentina in ’86.

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8:50 p.m.

France President Emmanuel Macron is attending the World Cup semifinal between France and Belgium at St. Petersburg Stadium. Macron shook hands with King Philippe of Belgium, who was with his wife Queen Mathilde.

Macron and King Philippe shook hands warmly and Macron patted him on the chest.

Macron is an avid soccer fan and supports southern French club Marseille.

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8:10 p.m.

Mexico went home from the World Cup more than a week ago, and while its fans are still scattered around Russia, some of them have lost enough interest in the matches that they’re selling tickets at face value.

Several fans wearing Mexico’s green jerseys approached a larger group of Belgians at a beer garden in St. Petersburg offering seats at “FIFA prices” for the World Cup semifinal. They didn’t immediately find any takers among the festive Europeans, who apparently already were set for the Belgium-France match.

Mexican and South American fans came to Russia in huge numbers despite having to travel far greater distances than Europeans. They’re still everywhere in the semifinal cities of St. Petersburg and Moscow even though only teams still alive are from Europe.

Martinez has been forced to reshuffle his back line after Paris Saint-Germain wing back Meunier was suspended for the match in St. Petersburg after picking up his second yellow card of the tournament in Belgium’s 2-1 quarterfinal win over Brazil.

After using a four-man defense against Brazil, Martinez has reverted to a three-man backline and four-man midfield of Nacer Chadli on the left, Dembele on the right, and Marouane Fellaini and Axel Witsel in the middle.

Eden Hazard, Romelu Lukaku and Kevin De Bruyne make up a potent three-man attack.

Dembele’s inclusion was the only change to the Belgium team that beat Brazil 2-1 in the quarterfinals.

The British government says motorways are expected to have one-third less traffic than normal when England takes on Croatia in the World Cup semifinals.

Highways England says traffic analysis on each of the England match days to date showed that during the games demand reduced by up to 33 percent.

The agency said in a statement that roads were not busier than normal before or after games, “suggesting people are often choosing not to travel or to travel at completely different times.”

Frank Bird, one of Highways England’s emergency planning officers, says “along with the rest of the country, we’ll be cheering on England! We want them to bring it home – and we want everyone on our roads to get home safely.”

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7:15 p.m.

Thousands more England fans are expected to descend on Moscow for their first World Cup semifinal in 28 years, but there’s not much sign of them yet.

The Nikolskaya street near the Kremlin, elaborately decorated with hanging lights, has been the main gathering point for fans in the Russian capital.

There were no more than a few dozen England fans there as of late Tuesday afternoon, with those singing team songs heavily outnumbered by passers-by filming them on phones.

Still, Kevin Miles of the Football Supporters Federation expects between 5,000 and 7,000 fans for Wednesday’s semifinal against Croatia, but admits “a lot of people are doing it last minute, so it’s very difficult to put numbers on it.”

Airlines have offered extra places on flights to Moscow and some Russians have sold their tickets after their team lost to Croatia. Still, Miles says high prices “have put a lot of people off” who were thinking of traveling at short notice.

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6:15 p.m.

England manager Gareth Southgate has been surprised at the vest craze back home, where “Waistcoast Wednesday” is trending.

Stores have been pushing waistcoat sales as England advanced to a World Cup semifinal match against Croatia in Moscow on Wednesday, with people taken by Southgate’s style of wearing a vest without his suit jacket,

Southgate says “I was not a renowned fashion icon throughout my playing career, so it’s rather strange to feel that way now. But we are really proud of the support that we are receiving.”

England has reached the semifinals at the World Cup for the first time since 1990, and confidence among supporters is growing that the national team will win the title for the first time since 1966.

Southgate says, “We’ve had the chance to make a difference. Our supporters, our country has had a long time of suffering in terms of football, and the enthusiasm they have for these players, because of the way they’ve — not only the way they’ve played, but the way they’re conducted themselves, they’ve been brilliant ambassadors for our country, and I think everybody can see that they’re proud to wear the shirt.”

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5 p.m.

FOX Sports says it will be simulcasting the World Cup semifinal between France and Belgium on Silvercast’s high-definition screen known as “Mega-Zilla” in New York’s Times Square.

Soccer fans in the United States have watched the World Cup in Russia on big screens around the country, but this is promoted as the biggest of them all.

The “Mega-Zilla,” a 78-foot-by-330-foot (24×100-meter) screen being promoted as the largest TV screen in the world, will be located between 45th and 46th Street on Broadway in Manhattan.

France and Belgium will be playing for a spot in Sunday’s final in Moscow.

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4:45 p.m.

FIFA says players from the youth soccer team rescued from a cave in Thailand will not be able to attend the World Cup final.

The sport’s world governing body says it has been informed by Thai authorities that the 12 boys and their coach “will not be in a position to travel” for health reasons.

FIFA expressed its “great joy” at the rescue and says its “priority remains the health of everyone involved in the operation.”

FIFA leaders will meet with Thai soccer officials this weekend in Moscow to explore “a new opportunity” to invite the boys to a major event to celebrate their survival.

The last four of the boys and the team coach were rescued Tuesday from a flooded cave in far northern Thailand after an ordeal that lasted more than two weeks.

FIFA expressed “profound gratitude to all persons involved in the rescue operation,” and condolences for the family of the diver who died.

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3:30 p.m.

They’re getting the World Cup croissants ready in Paris.

Paris, Russia, that is.

The village of Paris just outside the Russian city of Nizhny Novgorod is embracing its French links ahead of the World Cup semifinal match between France and Belgium.

The village cafe is decorated with images of the Eiffel Tower and is preparing croissants for the game, plus a Russian menu for any French guests who might happen to drop by.

Mayor Sergei Gromov says “we were supporting Russia but now it’s turned out like that (that Russia was eliminated), we’re going to support France and wish it success.”

The village’s full name is In Memory Of The Paris Commune, a reference to a socialist rebellion in 19th-century France. The name is so unwieldy most locals use Paris for short. Not everyone in Paris is pro-France, though. Villager Elena Vasilyeva says she’s cheering on Belgium because “they’re a real team.”

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3 p.m.

The Ukraine Football Federation has offered to pay a fine imposed on a Croatia official for making a pro-Ukraine video at the World Cup.

Soccer’s international governing body has fined Ognjen Vukojevic 15,000 Swiss francs ($15,150) for “unsporting behavior” after he and Croatia defender Domagoj Vida recorded a video including the phrase “glory to Ukraine” after the team beat host nation Russia in the World Cup quarterfinals.

The video angered some Russian fans, but was welcomed in Ukraine, where both Vida and Vukojevic formerly played for the Dynamo Kiev club. Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine in 2014 and political tensions remain high.

UFF president Andriy Pavelko, wearing a Croatia shirt and scarf, tells Ukrainian broadcaster 112 that he and other members of the UFF management offered to pay the fine and help Vukojevic with legal costs if he wants to appeal the ruling.

The Croatia soccer federation has already removed Vukojevic from its World Cup delegation. Vida was let off with an official warning and no match sanction, leaving him available to play in Wednesday’s World Cup semifinal against England.

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1 p.m.

The World Cup semifinal stage is beginning with the all-European lineup being celebrated by soccer’s governing body on the continent.

Belgium and France play in St. Petersburg on Tuesday and then Croatia and England meet the following night in Moscow.

It is the fifth time the last four has featured only European teams.

UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin says “even though some of our traditional contenders such as Germany, Spain and Portugal were eliminated, there are other teams which have surpassed expectations and can now win the title.”

In a statement to The Associated Press, Ceferin added “these results validate all the work that is being done across the continent to develop football, and they also showcase the strength and quality that exists across the whole UEFA region.”